Motto Tea Cafe - Pasadena - Pasadena, California

Alison Sitwell

Motto is an exceptional bubble tea and dessert shop in such a saturated area. I’ve tried an embarrassing number of their teas, drinks, pancakes, and desserts over the years. High quality ingredients, unique and perfectly prepared toppings. Order online, especially at busy hours.

L Juou

I recently visited Motto Tea Cafe with my husband while visiting my brother in LA, and while we initially thought we found a gem, our experience was mixed, which is why I’m giving 3 stars.

On our first visit, the brulee cake and drinks were amazing, and we were really impressed with the gentleman who served us—he made it a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, the next day was quite different. The lady who served us was extremely rude. When we greeted her, she didn’t bother to acknowledge us, which we initially brushed off, thinking she might have been distracted. However, it soon became clear that she wasn’t interested in providing any level of customer service.

She spent the entire time chatting with a coworker, completely ignoring the line of customers and showing no interest in what anyone had to say. Her attitude was incredibly negative, and the way she looked at everyone made it obvious she wasn’t happy to be there. When she finally brought our order to the table, she practically threw the plate at us. The cake was out of shape and had spilled a bit due to how carelessly she handled it.

If she dislikes her job that much, I hope management encourages her to find something else. There’s no reason to make customers suffer from such poor service, especially when the food and drinks are actually good.

Ashleen CA

Loved this place, pancakes were 10/10, never tried uji matcha with cheese mousse and it was so good, definitely would go back again!!

Miss HD

Cute japanese tea cafe with a nice selection of Japanese desserts. They are popular for their fluffy japanese souffle pancake. I was told it would take 15 minutes to make. Came at non a non peak time. During peak time, souffle pancakes can take up to 1 hour.
Opted to get the crepe cake and mousse cake instead. Both are really good! Prefer the crepe cake. It was sooo fluffy and airy. Will be coming back to try their other yummy desserts!

Julian Weiss

Souflette Pancakes were wonderful. Warm still in the center and really tasty toppings (had matcha and mango). The wait is long (60 min least on a Sunday at 1pm) and people hoard the areas to eat so I suggest getting there early or sending one person to get a table. The system for ordering is smooth through a tablet and the drinks come out quicker if that's why you're going.

Ana Torres

Cute little spot in Pasadena. My family had been wanting to try the Japanese Souffle Pancakes for a while. They were delicious. Drinks were good, a bit sweet for my taste (I kept it original), but you can change the sweetness level. The only downside is that we went late at night, and all their pastries were gone, except for 3 that we did care much for. We hope to go again soon, but early so that we can try the pastries.

Monique Salas

The food was good the drinks were good, there was not a lot of seating. They do get a good amount of business so when you go be patient because it takes time to make the pancakes.

Alexa González

It's delicious. I recommend Nutellamisu mousse souffle pancake with Matcha Latte with oatmeal milk.
I will return for the Taro crepe and drink. Thanks